Laser Interferometer Space Antenna

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• Laser Interferometer Space Antenna

Satellite Description

• Three spacecrafts forming a
• triangle flying 5 million km apart
• Placed in an elliptical plain 1
• AU from the Sun and 20 degrees
• behind Earth
• Acts as Michelson
• Interferometer
• Uses lasers to observe
• disturbances on proof masses
• placed in 2 spacecrafts
• Launch date 2011
• Cost 500 m

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Mission Technological Challenges

• Mission to Observe Gravitational Waves from

• Galactic binary systems
• Massive Black holes
• Supernova explosions

• Technological Challenges

• Inertial Sensors creating proof masses with low
  levels of disturbances
• Micronewton Thruster Thrusters to keep
  spacecraft from being disturbed
• Laser Interferometer precision in detection
  due to large separation between proof masses

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Why Should LISA deserve Continued Funding ?

• First to Detect Gravitational waves
• - Open a new window to observational
  Astronomy
• - Interiors strong-gravity, high-velocity
  regions
• Study of Gravitational Waves
• - Verify fundamental prediction of General
  Relativity
• - Fundamental block of theoretical picture
  of universe
• - Test Einsteins prediction that speed of
  light wave speed of
• gravitational wave
• Versatility of Detector
• - broader capability to detect waves
  arriving from different directions